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“Yes, We Have None!”

Some like them when they are firm and there is still a little green on the peel. Others think they are best when the peeling begins to show brown

We all know how over-ripe bananas are used.

spots. You’ve probably guessed that I’m talking about bananas. At our house, both of us like them the first way, firm and solid. That’s nice, but who’s going to eat them when the spots form? Our likes are not always the same, I like lots of covers at night, he likes them on in the morning, I like hot water, very hot, he likes it lukewarm….and on it goes.

Sometimes the differences in spouses’ likes makes one feel as if they are “going bananas.” In case you didn’t know, that’s when you go mildly crazy or freak out! But certainly we don’t do that over our choice of

I never put bananas in the refrigerator. I’m from the generation that heard that Chiquita banana jingle sung over and over again in the 1940’s and 50’s, “Never, Never Put Bananas In The Refrigerator, No, No, No, No.” However, it’s clear that from one

The one on the far left has been in, you guessed it, the refrigerator!

generation to the next, ideas change. I say that because today I’m being told that bananas freeze very well. In fact, one young woman said she threw one frozen banana in the food processor with some cream, milk, vanilla, and a little Splenda , then processed it until it was smooth. “Best banana ice cream I ever had,” she said. She also said she routinely stores her bananas in the refrigerator and believes others don’t do it only because the peeling turns black.There’s definitely a difference in people’s opinions

Feel like going bananas!

about bananas and, plainly, we just don’t always do what we’re told. I’m told not to store onions in the refrigerator and I do that all the time.

There’s another novelty song associated with bananas. “Yes, We Have No Bananas,” written in 1922 by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn. I’m told the song is attributed to a banana shortage caused by blight in Brazil at the

Old sheet music for, “Yes, We Have No Bananas.”

time the song was written. Then in 1932, the song lent it’s title to a book about the depression in Belfast. It was used again in Britain during World War II, when the British Government banned the importing of bananas for five years and in keeping with the war spirit, shop owners put up signs stating, “Yes, We Have No Bananas.” More recently, the phrase was used in 2006 when Cyclone Larry destroyed a large portion of Australia’s banana crop, leading to a shortage for most of the year.

Do you remember the outlandishly flamboyant woman who wore the fruit-laden hats? Actress, Carmen Miranda did and became famous as “the lady in the tutti-frutti hat.” Always a few bananas were among the fruit

Carmen Miranda

bobbing on her head as she danced to Latin music.

I found out a few more things about bananas. There’s a woman who believes bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time, and a gentleman finds bananas an amazing fruit when he takes the inside of the skin, rubs it directly on his shoes, then polishes with a dry cloth. He’s amazed at the shine it produces.

I looked for bananas in the Bible and instead I found a prayer written by the Apostle Paul asking God that we may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. Colossians 1: 10. Now that bit of information no one can argue about.

8 thoughts on ““Yes, We Have None!””

Oh my…I burst into song on a regular basis…”yes…we have no…banana’s…we have no…bananas today”. My life is in song. A song for almost everything I hear during my day. It always brings a chuckle to my special needs son. We always have bananas in the house…green through black. Ryan likes the bright yellow stage…my husband a little more ripe…I like them when they are spotted but not quite black (sweeter flavor and higher in antioxidants). When they are really black they make the best banana bread. I love how you educate me about things I never really think about. Like the history behind the song…and how you compare a marriage…it’s our differences that draw us together each liking in the other what we ourselves lack…only later those same things that brought us together are the same things that pull us apart. Always remembering…if we all agreed on everything all of the time…one of us wouldn’t be necessary. I looked up “facts about bananas” one of the facts said about 50% of people who are allergic to latex are often allergic to bananas. I’m allergic to latex but not bananas thank goodness. My mother Rosie had an allergy to bananas. We have one fruit smoothie with bananas everyday. They are safe and pure as a first baby food although I started my children on vegies first so they wouldn’t be drawn to just the sweetness of fruit.

You never cease to amaze me with your blogs, and you come up with such interesting and unique ideas for your writings. Bananas are a fruit that never seems to last at our house. I like bananas only when they are nicely ripe with no spots on them, but my husband will eat them with spots on; and my son doesn’t like them with spots either. LOL Now my parrots all love bananas, and they don’t seem to have a preference as to whether or not they are nicely ripened or even mushy. Incidentally, bananas turn dark in the fridg., but the fruit on the inside stays firm and it doesn’t become mushy. When I work at the Bird Store, I bring a bananas with me and give it to some of the parrots in the store. I usually do this at the end of the day, and they always look forward to this treat. I am sure that your Pedro loves bananas, too. I have seen banana trees in Florida, however, the fruits that the trees produce always seemed to be small in size. I wonder if they are a different type of banana? I know that plantains (I think that is what they are called) are smaller in size. Thank you for your blog on bananas……now I feel like going and eating one. LOL

Well, I sure prefer bananas WITH spots! Taste so much better that way!! I love the sheet music artwork. Oh, and I peel ripe bananas, break them into pieces and freeze them for smoothies. Works out great!